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Evaluation of aboveground and belowground biomass recovery in physically disturbed seagrass beds

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Abstract

Several studies addressed aboveground biomass recovery in tropical and subtropical seagrass systems following physical disturbance. However, there are few studies documenting belowground biomass recovery despite the important functional and ecological role of roots and rhizomes for seagrass ecosystems. In this study, we compared the recovery of biomass (g dry weight m−2) as well as the biomass recovery rates in ten severely disturbed multi-species seagrass meadows, after the sediments were excavated and the seagrasses removed. Three sites were located in the tropics (Puerto Rico) and seven in the subtropics (Florida Keys), and all were originally dominated by Thalassia testudinum. Total aboveground biomass reached reference values at four out of ten sites studied, two in the Florida Keys and two in Puerto Rico. Total belowground biomass was lower at the disturbed locations compared to the references at all sites, apart from two sites in the Florida Keys where the compensatory effect of opportunistic species (Syringodium filiforme and Halodule wrightii) was observed. The results revealed large variation among sites in aboveground and belowground biomass for all species, with higher aboveground recovery than belowground for T. testudinum. Recovery rates for T. testudinum were highly variable across sites, but a general trend of faster aboveground than belowground recovery was observed. Equal rates between aboveground and belowground biomass were found for opportunistic species at several sites in the Florida Keys. These results indicate the importance of belowground biomass when assessing seagrass recovery and suggest that the appropriate metric to assess seagrass recovery should address belowground biomass as well as aboveground biomass in order to evaluate the full recovery of ecological services and functions performed by seagrasses. We point out regional differences in species composition and species shifts following severe disturbance events and discuss ecological implications of gap dynamics in multi-species seagrass meadows.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the officers and crew of NOAA ship NANCY FOSTER for their professional assistance during the cruises and for the good time while onboard. Research cruises require a great deal of work and preparation and we are grateful to the large number of scientists that made this project possible. In particular, we would like to thank Manuel Merello, Sean Meehan, Amy Uhrin, Shay Viehman, Lisa Wood, Brooke Landry, Jennifer Kunzelman, John Hackney, Penny Hall, Donna Berns, Kevin Kirsch, Brian Degan, Kevin Madley, Mark Julian, Erika Hansen and Jim Reid. We are also grateful to all those people that helped us process the many seagrass samples; thanks go to the Marine Mammal Group at the NOAA Beaufort Laboratory (Emma, Patti, Gretchen, Annie), Mike Lacroix, Patricia Hay, Gary Fisher, Brad Teer, Jenny VanderPlum and Vanessa Nero. We are indebted to Ray Gorley for his endless patience and his invaluable support with PRIMER and PERMANOVA software. Useful comments on the statistics and the text were provided by Antonio Terlizzi, Marti Jane Anderson, Shay Viehman, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Mike J. Durako and three anonymous reviewers. This project was funded by a combination of sources including: Programmatic funds provided by the Center for Coastal Fishery and Habitat Research (CCFHR), National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), National Ocean Service, NOAA, a Long-Term Agreement between NCCOS and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Commission. Giuseppe Di Carlos’s Post-Doctoral Fellowship at CCFHR was supported by the National Research Council/National Academies of Science.

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  1. Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, National Ocean Service/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 101 Pivers Island Road, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA

    Giuseppe Di Carlo & W. Judson Kenworthy

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  1. Giuseppe Di Carlo
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  2. W. Judson Kenworthy
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Correspondence to Giuseppe Di Carlo.

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Communicated by Martin Attrill.

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442_2008_1120_MOESM1_ESM.eps

Fig. S1 Study sites location. Circles in the Caribbean Sea map correspond to enlarged areas of the Florida Keys and southeastern Puerto Rico (EPS 5.80 mb)

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Di Carlo, G., Kenworthy, W.J. Evaluation of aboveground and belowground biomass recovery in physically disturbed seagrass beds. Oecologia 158, 285–298 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1120-0

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